The San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition with a dash of orange

Today started so simply. Pellegrino... sparkles... water. Nestled next to the wine. Entwined. For later.

Winter oranges on my counter. Also - for later. Sparkling red.

Sparkling clear.

A contest to attend a contest. As Foodbuzz goes through blog entries determining who will be the lucky winners to attend the semi-final San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in Las Vegas or the finals in Napa Valley, I sip my water and dream of sparkles in the guise of glistening food and scintillating chefs. I see the buzz, the movement, the plating, the stakes. And in all honesty - the warmth. It is February in Minnesota, after all.

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It's time to finish the orange salad as planned. I'm grateful my task is simple.

Orange salad.... Insalata Di Arance.. or in Sicilian dialect: Nzlata D'Aranci. Sliced oranges with black pepper. Shimmering. Jumping. Like my sparkling water. Like my mind.

My work station glows with possibilities. A chance to watch up-and-coming chefs. The future. The food. Yes, of course the food. Which reminds me - I haven't planned my dinner food.

Dinner plates lay empty. The orange salad is done. Will that suffice? My mind is a blank. I am thinking of other foods. What will the young chefs prepare? What spark will they ignite in me? In my area (Minnesota), Brian Schrieber won the competition with his Bacon-wrapped Halibut Tournedos. Could that be on my menu tonight?
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All I have is the salad. Oranges blazing with freshly-grated pepper. Some sliced olives scattered over all. A drizzle of olive oil. It will please. But really, there should be another course.

Pellegrino dreams. Oranges. Winter brights. A lovely addition but my table is lacking.

Flashes of ingredients. The promise of sweet, savory, sensual from an orange, a fillet, a nut or a vine.

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The competition is a mentoring program. That idea fills my being. As one who has mentored, taught and learned from my students, mentoring is giving back to those who helped you. But I realize that although my being may be filled, my family will want something more.

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I enter with hope. I am old enough to understand competitions, the wins and the losses. But not so old that I cannot learn from the young. I am wise enough to realize dinner must arrive at my dinner table no matter what my distraction. And pleased that my distraction includes glimmers of almost-famous-chefs

So here is my entry - a wish really. A sort of trust. A chance to celebrate young chefs, their creations, their imaginations. Witnessing it all. Taking it in breath by breath through all the senses. And what would I bring? As a veteran of many playwrighting competitions where I have won, lost and dwelled in the nebulous area of placing somewhere in-between, I bring my unwavering support, myself and my appetitie. My appetite for food, young chefs, new talent and fresh creation. My guarantee to not go on a diet till after the competition. My hands for applause, as well as support, encouragement and reminders to breathe. Always breathe. And a message to the young chefs: savor each moment. For win, lose or draw, those moments will forever be an ingredient in the "you" that will come.